The Good. The Bad. And the Travels.

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015

What do you want to be like when you’re 96?

One of our neighbors here in Cincinnati is 96 (or so) years old. He just retired about four years ago, and since we have been here, I have seen him outside working on something almost every single day. I say something, because I am not sure what it is exactly that he is trying to fix. But I always see him in the exact same spot, right next to his gate, with his toolbox and his walker. Yes, he is on a walker and still in charge of the repairs of the house!

I can see and mostly hear him from the window in our room. Over time I have noticed that he seems to have developed this very deep relationship to whatever it is that he is trying to repair. I can tell because he has given IT a name. He calls IT “son of a b****”. Every two minutes he grunts and calls his gate problem a SOB. Every ten minutes his wife comes out to ask him if he is finished. He usually just answers: “SOB!” This goes on for a couple of hours, until I hear the final SOB. I can already tell by now by his frustrated tone of voice which SOB is the goodbye one. After this, he goes back inside. Only to be spotted again, in the very same spot, a few days later with his SOB.

the object of contempt, aka, the SOB

You gotta admire the man, though! He is 96 (or so), for God’s sake! And he is still highly motivated to fix his SOB. I have to say, when I think about what I want to be like at age 96, a swearing and repairing old lady on a walker really doesn’t seem to be so bad…

That’s very admirable! I am far more selfish, I have to admit. A cool grandmother with an amazing garden is more along the lines of what I am imagining for myself… so more power to people who think like you!